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REVIEW: DEPORTIVO 3 – HERCULES 2 (LIGA)

03 Mar 2014Another miracle for Depor. After a great first part the team wasted a two-goal advantage thanks to the sacrifice of the rival and the polemic decisions of the referee. And Toché showed up at the end to score the winning goal.

BEFORE THE GAME
There were many novelties at the lineup of coach Fernando Vázquez. First to all the draw was a 4-2-3-1 and not the expected 5-2-2-1; then German Lux returned to the starting formation after his knee injury. Manuel Pablo and Juan Carlos Real were also returning to the starting eleven. In the case of the Galician playmaker this was his first appearance since the 1-2 loss before UD Las Palmas (January 19)

Lux was the keeper, Manuel Pablo covered the right-back position, Luisinho was at the left, the centre-backs were Insua and Lopo. Álex Bergantiños and Juan Dominguez were the centre midfielders, Diogo Salomão attacked from the right wing, Rabello did it from the left, Juan Carlos was the playmaker and Toché was the central attacker.

At Hércules CF, coach Quique Hernández presented the expected 4-2-3-1 formation. ex-Barca B Gai Yigaal Assulin and former Celta man Enrique ‘Quique’ De Lucas were covering the casualties in attack. The other references up front were David Ferreiro and Gorka Azkorra.
It was a rainy day in A Coruña, but it didn’t affect the pitch’s conditions. Arsenio Iglesias received a homage at half-time.

FIRST HALF
Peaceful first part for Deportivo. Los Blanquiazules combined and scored twice within the first twenty minutes. The rival gave problems at the beginning, but later they were totally surpassed by the accurate game of Depor. The only concern turned to be the injury of Salomão, who was replace by Sissoko early in the game.

It was a moved start at the Riazor; the visiting outfit was pushing since the kick-off and soon they had the first approximation through a long-range shot of Eichaide that missed the target (1’). But just one minute later the locals scored the first goal in their first approximation.

It was quick throw-in, Juan Carlos made a perfect and drilling pass that was seized by Toché in order to net his third goal on the season through a drilling attempt past visiting keeper Ismael Falcón.

In the next attack of Deportivo, Salomão got injured after entering the area and felling into the ground after a challenge from a rival. The Portuguese winger was stretched off and Ibrahim Sissoko replaced him. It was later informed that he sustained a knee injury. New scans will be made on Monday.

Hércules claimed the ball possession and was trying to equalize through fast attacks, while Depor sought for the second goal through the counterattack. In this way the game was entertaining. The Valencians could have had the ball possession, but the most dangerous team on the pitch was Deportivo.

At minute 12, Toché missed by inches a drilling cross of Luisinho. And just six minutes later the locals were going to score the second goal. Rabello got the ball at the edge of the area, then he fooled the rivals attempting to pass the ball to Luisinho, but instead he drilled the ball into the area and Juan Carlos was there to drill the ball crossing Falcón.

Three opportunities and two goals, Hércules CF continued pushing, but they weren’t looking as strong as they were within the first fifteen minutes. The entry of Sissoko moved the position of Juan Carlos to the right wing, Rabello was on the left and the Ivorian was the playmaker. At minute 35, Juan Dominguez attempted from the edge of the area, but he missed the target.

The only two shots on target for the visiting outfit during the first part took place within the last five minutes, and both were starred by Gai Assulin. In the first the ex-Barca B youngster attempted a drilling cross from the right corner of the area, but Lux made the save (41’). Four minutes later he headed a high cross, but it turned to be an easy catch for Depor’s goalie.

SECOND HALF
Unexpected second part; the circumstances pushed Depor to the self-destruction after the referee showed a direct card to Luisinho and after he didn’t whistle a clear penalty for the Galicians. Still, Hércules CF deserved the draw and more due to its effort and opportunities, but Toché showed up again to score the winning goal and secure three new points.

The second start began with Quique Hernández switching the system into a 4-4-2, this since Javier Portillo replaced Assulin, but the side that started pushing was Depor. Just one minute after the kick-off, Toché scored chipping the ball over Falcón, but he was offside.

And what happened was the same thing witnessed during the first half, because the side that had the best start ended conceding a goal. And again Depor allowed a goal in a set-piece. Luisinho committed a foul at the left corner of the area, Portillo released a drilling shot that went under the wall, and Lux couldn’t block the shot, so the ball ended at the back of the net. The Argentine goalie should have deflected the ball, because the attempt went into the side that he was protecting.

The goal revitalized the spirit of Hércules CF and they surrounded Depor’s area releasing endless crosses, in one of them Manuel Pablo blocked the attempt of Abdoul Sissoko when he was alone before Lux (56’).

And then there was a polemic decision by referee Jorge Figueroa Vázquez as he showed a direct red card to Luisinho. The Portuguese defender complained with the assistant and he told the referee that he was insulting them, so the player was sent off. In the act the referee wrote what he said, “This is a robbery, this is a farce, shameless. You won’t go out alive from here”

The situation with the referee was so tense that he even sent off the ball boys after they threw a ball into the pitch during a corner-kick in favour of Hércules CF [in the act the referee reported that “they weren’t doing their job”]. Also polemic was the decision of the referee of not allowing a penalty after a shot of Sissoko was clearly deflected by Echaide when they were inside the area (65’).

Depor were having a poor second part and all this situation with the referee was just the last hit to witness the downfall of Deportivo, because since this point Hércules was the only ruler of the game; constantly releasing crosses into the area of Lux. Fernando Vázquez ordered the other two substitutions and Wilk and Seoane replaced Juan Carlos and Sissoko. In the case of Juan Carlos he was dragging a hip injury.

Depor switched into a 5-2-2-1 formation as Álex Bergantiños delayed his position to become the third centre-back, but it wasn’t enough to stop Hércules CF. In one of the endless crosses sent into the area, Juanma Ortiz put the ball at the penalty spot and Abdoul Sissoko was there to reach the ball first before Seoane to put the ball at the near post. Ironically the ex-Fabril entered the pitch one minute before in order to block these kinds of plays.

After the equalizer Depor turned to be a broken team, unable to attack and very nervous at the moment of clearing the danger at Lux’s area. Hércules deserved a better luck in the game; with Sissoko as a real threat coming from behind, with De Lucas releasing the set-pieces and the crosses and, especially, with the presence of Portillo in attack.

The Valencians had their clearest chance at minute 75, Portillo picked a loose ball at the penalty spot and his attempt was going in, but unfortunately for them the ball hit Ferreiro and missed the target. The statistics clearly reflect the overwhelming dominion of the visiting team: 64% of the ball possession and 14 shots before only 5 for Depor.

But the lightning struck again in favour of Depor, though in this opportunity it wasn’t necessary to wait for the stoppage time. Six minutes before the final whistle a long run of Seoane ended with a precise cross that put the ball at the penalty spot, and Toché beat two rivals to head the ball in. It’s his fourth goal after landing in January. It was also the third shot on target for Depor in the game. 100% effective to earn the win.

Hércules CF couldn’t believe how they were losing this game; Quique Hernández even put an extra attacker replacing a defender, this with the entry of Héctor Font, but the only danger they could create was a shot of De Lucas that went over the crossbar (90’).

AFTER THE GAME
Another suffered game for Deportivo; things were under control in the first part and everything seemed lost in the second after the big effort of the rival and the polemic decisions of the referee. Juan Carlos had a solid performance, but the hero was Toché, who scored a brace, including the winning goal six minutes before the final whistle. The true is that Depor were lucky as their three shots on target ended at the back of the net.

Depor remain second at the standings, tied in points with SD Eibar and now with a gap of two points over Recreativo de Huelva and four over Sporting Gijón. On next Saturday, the Galicians visit CD Mirandés (Anduva, 18h15 CET).